Hey everyone,

Yesterday afternoon i purchased a 91 Camaro RS V-6 from a gentleman who had it sitting in his backyard for about a year for $300. A little background on the vehicle. Innumerable previous owners, the last of which were two teenage kids who drove the car near to death. The vehicle currently has 245k on the odo. Personally i find it amazing that the car still runs (Its locked into first gear). In looking at it, the body and interior are not bad. No body damage and minor surface rust patches here and there. At this point, mechanical problems come before body work. Considering the age and mileage on the current engine/transmission, in your opinion would it be worth going through and rebuilding the engine and transmission myself or running down to a u-pick and getting a hold of less used components?

As of right now the car starts and runs. I have not had a chance to do a tune up at all. The only thing i can see that would keep the car from running properly is that the TV cable has snapped and apparently the transmission has lost OD. Ill know more once i have time to actually dig through the car.

This is my first restoration. Any hints or tips will really help. Thank you

 

Being a V6 car, I wouldn't be as worried about having the original engine/trans in it. Certainly, keep them if you want versus getting rid of them...but they don't add to the value of the car much in this current economic climate.

With that said, do you even know that you need a new engine or trans? I'd say fix the TV cable, then get it out for a nice run. Change all the fluids, and see what you really have there. The trans may be ok in the end...who knows.

Good luck to you....I own a '91 myself, and its become a great ride for me. 3.1s have much better acceleration than their older 2.8 derivatives.

 

Thanks for the input Jason. I may be getting a little ahead of myself, the engine and trans are probably fine. Ill get that TV cable swapped out and hope for the best. The idea down the line was to get a reliable car for long distance. My other vehicle is a Ford Bronco 5.8 so i figured a V-6 camaro would be a good bet for a cruising car.

 

I'm with Jason. Get it running and see what's what.

 

TV cables can do funny things. A few years back I was considering a $2,500 81k mile '87 IROC 350. I thought the tranny was messed up, as at WOT it shifted by 3500...yet if I held it in gear manually, it screamed right to redline. Had to be the TV cable.

Good luck with your project. Parts are cheap and plentiful, but with 240k+ I hope you enjoy working on cars Best step with these is to always change every fluid possible, tune it up, then go rip on it and see how it goes.

 

pics!

 

Start looking at the 94-95's for the 3.4L to take the place of the 3.1

 

Ill post pics this weekend. I work 60 hours a week and my car is parked at a property 10 miles away. Apartments arent too friendly to projects.

 

Its been a while since ive posted. Pictures can be seen at http://s1098.photobucket.com/home/Camarocole
As you can see the interior is shot. Discovered this weekend that the Tranny is due for a rebuild and the motor has a rod knock.

We ended up replacing the TV cable. Once the vehicle shifts into second there is no power at all. Replaced fluids and filter and poured in some stop slip just to see if it helped and nothing. Going to prep for removal today. Found a 20yr GM tech willing to rebuild the 700r4 for 200$. I am thinking about trying to rebuild the v-6 and prep it for a twin turbo system.

Any thoughts?

 

1) Let him rebuild the 700R4.
2) Find a 3.4 cheap
3) Install 3.4
4) Fix the rest of the car.

I wouldn't mess with turbo setups when the rest of the car needs so much work...just my .02. Spend the money on making it better...not just faster.

 

when dropping in a 3.4 is there a lot of modification involved? I was considering doing some engine work and getting to commuter status then bench building a v-6 on the side for performance. Pretty sure that oil pump replacement and rod bearing replacement will get her around town no problem. I find out tomorrow.

Theres a lot of engine/suspension/body/interior work that will come before the turbo. I don't care how fast the car is if i feel like imma get tetanus every time i get in the car.